Another Day in Paris
by millennialfairy
Summary: What. Is. Happening? What even is their relationship now? How are they doing with and without the mask?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous or anything associated with it.

Chapter 1

 _Ugh_ Marinette thought as she trudged to school. She was completely swamped, and last night's akuma attack didn't help. "Tikki I can't do this anymore," Marinette groaned, "all I want to do is sleep." Tikki chuckled, "Oh Marinette. You say this almost every day. You've got this girlie!" Before Marinette could reply, her best friend Alya ran up behind her, "Hey Mari! Ready for a grand day!" Marinette laughed. She loved her best friend, but she hated keeping this secret. She felt like she was caught in a constant lie.

"Yo Alya!" Nino yelled, "how's my favorite girl doing today? Not that I don't like you Mari, it's just, you know…" Marinette could only shake her head, "I know. You guys are dating, I get it." Nino beamed a bright smile as he put his arm around Alya as they continued into the school. Marinette could only smile at the couple, she was the one who basically set them up, not that they knew since she was Ladybug at the time.

"Marinette! Wait!" Marinette whipped around as a body nearly rammed into her. She slowly looked up to see the smiling face of her crush, Adrien Agreste. She quickly took a step back to increase the distance between them as she weakly giggled and waved, "Hey Adrien. What's up?" _Wow Mari, that's all you've got?_ As of late, Marinette has been getting much better around her crush. She actually has normal conversations with him instead of him talking and her mostly stuttering. Because of this, they have become much closer. "Just enjoying this beautiful morning," said Adrien cheerfully, "I had a good night so this nice morning really makes it better." Marinette sighed as she recalled last night's events.

After the akuma attack, Marinette went back into her room and flopped on her bed. Right before she fell asleep, she heard a small tap on her window. She groaned, "Chat Noir this is not a good time." Despite her gut instinct, she got up to open her window and let the stray cat in. "Hello pur-incess. Did you see tonight's akuma attack?" he smirked as he flexed his muscles. "Of course I did Chat. It was practically out my window." "Well that's why I'm here," Chat said suddenly becoming serious, "it was awfully close to your house I just wanted to make sure you were safe." Marinette smiled, "I appreciate the concern, but you and Ladybug took care of it so there is no reason for me to be scared. Now why don't you go home, it's getting pretty late." "Actually," Chat began not looking at Marinette, "could I stay here for a while? It's just, I don't think this is the best time for me to be at home. Plus, what's better than hanging out with my pur-incess." At that comment, Marinette threw a pillow squarely at Chat's head.

And that's how they ended up passed out in the middle of Marinette's room. They stayed up late talking and enjoying each other's company. When Marinette's alarm went off, Chat was gone, but a note was left in his place. _Thank you princess._

"Uhh, Mari?" Adrien said concerned as he waved a hand in front of her face. "Oh! Uh, sorry, was lost in thought." "Don't worry about it," Adrien chuckled, "it was cute." And with that comment, Adrien walked off unaware of his speechless friend gasping for air in the hallway.

* * *

"YOU CALLED HER CUTE!" Alya screeched as she marched up to Adrien Agreste at their typical lunch table with an extremely embarrassed Marinette attached to her leg. "I'm sorry, what?" Adrien said giving Nino a sideways glance. Nino merely shrugged. Every day it was something different with Alya. Yesterday it was that the restaurant put pickles in her sandwich when she _specifically_ asked for no pickles. "YOU CALLED MY BEST FRIEND 'CUTE' THEN WALKED OFF. WHO DOES THAT?"

Adrien was confused to say the least. But as he recalled the day's earlier events, he turned redder than Ladybug's costume. "Heh, I guess I did," he replied weakly, "but I don't understand what the big deal is?" It took every ounce of self-control for Alya not to yell, "BECAUSE MARI HAS THE BIGGEST CRUSH ON YOU, AND YOU JUST DON'T DO THAT TO A GIRL," but she knew that Marinette would _not_ be happy, and be even more embarrassed than she already is. "Look," Alya began looking at the girl on her leg, "you just don't do that to a girl, alright? You have to be serious about it. You can't nonchalantly throw complements like that around." But what Alya didn't hear as she walked away was, "But I did mean it…"

* * *

For the rest of the day, Marinette walked with her bangs covering her face. Every time she thought of her interaction with Adrien that morning, her face started burning. "Hey Mari?" For the second time today, Marinette was faced with Adrien's chest. She scrambled to distance herself, but she continued to turn red no matter how much she willed herself not to. "Hey…" Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for this morning. I'm not really sure what I did wrong, but it seems like I upset you, so I just wanted to apologize." "Adrien you didn't do anything wrong, it just, surprised me I guess," Marinette replied somewhat slowly. She was doing her best not to show how flustered she was. Confused, Adrien continued, "Surprised? Why were you surprised?" Marinette chocked. How was she supposed to respond to something like this? "I mean, I didn't know you thought I was cute?" She said it like a question. Geez, she had so many questions right now.

 _"Marinette doesn't know that she's absolutely freaking adorable?"_ Adrien could only stare at the girl. She was gorgeous and didn't know it. In this moment, Adrien was focused on Marinette and Marinette only. She stood there slightly confused looking up at him. Before he lost the nerve, Adrien slowly closed the gap between them. He lowered his head until they were only inches apart. "Marinette," he whispered, "you are absolutely beautiful." And then, he kissed her.

* * *

 **Yay! First chapter and first story! I REALLY hope everyone likes it. Please comment and let me know any thoughts!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous or anything associated with it.

Chapter 2

Marinette pulled back quickly, shocked. Her long time crush just kissed her?! What?! No matter how hard she tried to say something, words wouldn't come. She continued to open and close her mouth, contorting her face, willing for words to come. Adrien awkwardly chuckled, "sorry about that. I… guess I got caught up in the moment?" He rubbed the back of his neck, like he always does when things get weird. After some time and effort, Marinette finally said something, "why…why did you do that?" Adrien's face turned a deep crimson, "because I like you, Marinette."

"No, you don't Adrien," Marinette said slowly, "I know you like Ladybug." Marinette couldn't contain herself. Tears began forming in her bluebell eyes. Who was she kidding? Everyone loved Ladybug. But if they found out it was her behind the mask, especially Adrien, everyone would be disappointed. If Adrien was going to like her, she wanted it to be because he liked her, not because she was his second choice.

"Mari, I'm telling the truth. Yeah Ladybug is 'the savior of Paris,' but you, you're real." Adrien took a step closer to the girl. Why can't she understand that he likes her? Why is she denying his feelings? Why doesn't she believe him?

"Whatever, Adrien. You'll be over it by morning. I guarantee it." And with that, Marinette turned on her heel and started walking home. There was no actual way Adrien liked her, right? Why did she even believe it for a second? She shook her head. _I need a nap. A nice, LONG nap._

As soon as Marinette's head hit her pillow, she was asleep. This job saving Paris was really messing with her sleep schedule. After about an hour, she heard a tap on her window. "Chaaaaat," she groaned, "why do you always do this when I want _peace_ and _quiet._ " Still, she opened her window for her superhero friend. He climbed in differently. Instead of his usual joyful self, he crawled in slowly and tentatively. He seemed… upset.

"What's wrong, Chat? Are you okay?" Chat sighed as he sat against the leg of Marinette's desk. "I got rejected by the girl I like today," he mumbled as he ran a hand through his golden locks, "if you can't tell, I'm upset." Marinette giggled softly, "I can tell. Sorry Ladybug rejected you," she said with half an eye-roll. Obviously it wasn't her. "No, not Ladybug. Don't get me wrong, Ladybug's great, but we barely know each other, and she's made her feeling pretty clear. It was a girl at my school. It's almost like she didn't believe me when I said I liked her. Then she just turned around and went home." Marinette walked over and have him a hug. She felt bad for him, she really did, but she didn't realize how similar Chat's situation was to hers. They sat like that for a while. Chat snuggled against Marinette's chest while she stroked his hair. It gave them both a sense of comfort and relief from their stressful days.

"Let's play a game," Chat said suddenly, "like… 20 questions. We ask questions back and forth to each other and we'll both answer them." Marinette smiled. She liked how her cat was getting back to his playful demeanor. "Okay. I'll go first. When you're not saving the day as the great Chat Noir, what do you like to do?" Chat thought for a moment as to not give too much detail in fear of giving away his identity, "well, I believe it or not, I really like playing the piano. What about you? When you're not being a typical teenage girl." They both laughed, but for different reasons. _If only he knew._ "um, I really like fashion and sewing, playing video games, and recently I've been learning to play the guitar! I'm not very good yet, but it's fun." Chat lighted up at the last one, "we'll then my purr-incess, maybe one day we'll have to have a jam session together." The two laughed. The pair continued to play similarly. They asked each other questions about each other until they couldn't think of anymore.

After a while, they looked outside and realized how late it was. "I should get back home for dinner," Chat began, "thank you so much for this." Chat took a dramatic bow and kissed Marinette's hand. She laughed, but still played along giving a small curtsy, "any time Chat. I enjoyed your company today, too." Chat stood on her balcony looking back once more before he took of, "bye Mari."

If you would have counted to about 7 after Chat took off, one would have seen a completely distraught Marinette. "Tikki!" A red blur shot out of her room, "are you alright Marinette?" the fairy said concerned. Marinette slowly turned to her kwami, " _Chat Noir_ just called me _Mari._ "

 **Another chapter done! Still super excited about writing again. If there are any fandoms you guys want to see just let me know and if I'm in them then I will most definitely begin a story for them.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous or anything associated with it.

Chapter 3

" _Chat Noir_ just called me _Mari._ " Tikki tilted her head to the side confused, "but Marinette, your friends call you Mari. I don't see what the big deal is here." "Tikki, _my closest friends_ call me Mari, no one else. Chat always calls me Marinette or some dumb cat pun nickname. There's no way he could have known that Mari is my nickname, right? I mean, we don't know each other in real life, do we? But what if-" "Marinette breathe!" Marinette took a few deeps breaths in attempt to slow down her heart rate. "I promise this is nothing to worry about. It was just some weird coincidence." Marinette nodded slowly. Coincidence or not, it was still strange.

"Attention students," began Ms. Bustier, "as many of you are aware, our school's annual Spring Fling is next Friday. I hope I will see you all there!"

When the bell rang for lunch, there was a huge commotion among the students. Everyone was super excited for the dance. "Adrien is going to ask me, obvi," stated Chloe with a flick of her blonde ponytail, "who else would he ask?" "He could ask Marinette," all heads turned to Nino as he gently pushed his friend into the line of fire. "And why would he ask her? She's a total dweeb." "No she's not. She's my friend, and she's anything but a dweeb. She's kind and deeply cares for others. Not to mention she's extremely talented."

Before he could continue, he turned his head to see a wide-eyed Marinette who had slammed the brakes in the middle of the hallway. Alya loved every second of this. She made her way over to Nino and they shared a fist bump. All eyes were on Marinette and Adrien. Chloe was the first to break the silence, "excuse me while I gag," she walked up to Marinette and grabbed her arm, "don't you dare try anything missy or you'll be sorry." Once she let go, she straightened up and waltz to her usual lunch table followed by her ever trusty "friend" Sabrina.

Adrien walked up to Marinette, "I'm sorry about Chloe. I know she isn't always… kind?" Marinette rolled her eyes, "you're being too nice. She's awful." Marinette could only remember every time Chloe was cruel to her. Little does Adrien know, the bullying began back in elementary school. For as long as anyone could remember, Chloe never liked Marinette.

Adrien noticed Marinette's sudden change in demeanor. He thought quickly and ran on top of the lunch table Alya and Nino were already sitting at. _Please don't embarrass yourself Agreste._ "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Adrien said biting back the nerves, "will you go to the Spring Fling with me?"

 **I know, I know. This chapter is super short, but I felt really compelled to write something in this story today.**

 **Just an fyi, I have another story called** _ **Annoying, or No?**_ **for Young Justice, and I'm really hoping to get that story more developed. If you're at all interested go check it out! Again, comment anything you'd like to say, don't be shy!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: it's going to be the same disclaimer every chapter

Chapter 4

"Adrien, can we talk in private please?" Alya and Marinette shared a look. They weren't completely sure what was going on, but they were about to find out. "Sure," Adrien replied with a small smile. He really needed to talk to her, but unfortunately standing on the lunch table seemed to be the only way she would finally take him seriously. "Marinette I have something I need to say." They sat at a lonely bench in the corner of the courtyard. Marinette sighed and allowed him to continue. "Look, I don't understand what's been going on with you lately. It seems like you've been overreacting at everything. I just want to know if you're okay."

Marinette blinked once, then twice. This was not the conversation she thought she was about to have. She sighed, "I'm really sorry Adrien. I don't really know either. I've just had a lot on my mind lately." "Me too," Adrien continued with a nod, "but I want you to know that I was serious about what I said. And Ladybug? She's just a celebrity crush. Heck, I bet all of Paris has a crush on her." He laughed brightly, "but you're real Mari. It's taken me some time to realize this, but I really do like you and you need to know that." Marinette bit her lip and sighed, "look Adrien. I _really_ don't want to say this, but I think this is the right time. I really like you, too, but the more I think about it, the more conflicted I am about these feelings."

She just lied. To _Adrien._ She never second guessed her feeling for him. Marinette knew she liked him, and it seemed like it would never change. But the more she thought about her life as Ladybug, constantly leaving at random times and returning with injuries, she didn't want Adrien to worry. If they got too close, she knew he'd ask about the scars and scratches. She's almost gotten caught by Alya; she can't risk another person.

"Don't worry, me too," Marinette's head snapped back to Adrien who was looking out into the courtyard, "there are things about my life I can't share with people, but I really care about you Marinette, and I was hoping you could reciprocate the feeling." "Of course I care about you," Marinette began, "heck, you're one of the most important people in my life."

They both smiled. They sat comfortably in the silence of each other's company. But at the same time, the two couldn't help but feel guilty. They hated keeping this secret, but they knew that they had to for the safety of each other. But why was something compelling them to tell each other?

"I'm sorry girl, but you're going to have to repeat that whole thing," Alya said while plopping down on Marinette's bedroom floor. "Alya I already told you. We worked things out. I think we just needed to say somethings, but I think we're cool now." Alya sighed. Although Marinette was her best friend, she was still clueless at times, "you know, you never told him if you would go to Spring Fling with him." Marinette's eyes widened. Was he serious about Spring Fling? Or was it just to get her attention?

Chat Noir paced Marinette's balcony. Should he be doing this as Adrien? No, he's lose the confidence. Plus, as Chat, he could say things he was afraid to say as Adrien. _Here goes nothing._ "Hello pur-ince…" _Bad time, run away!_ But Chat just stayed where he was, half hanging into Marinette's room. But Marinette wasn't alone. Alya was sitting there wide eyed. Chat sheepishly came down and continued, "I was asked by Adrien Agreste to deliver a message." Alya gave Marinette a _what in the world is going on_ look, but Marinette merely shrugged completely confused herself.

Chat handed her a folded up piece of paper. Marinette gingerly opened it and read aloud, "Marinette, I know you're a bit stubborn on this, but luckily I'm just as stubborn. I really hope you'll consider going to Spring Fling with me." Marinette looked back up at Chat who was just walking around her room like he's never seen it. She cleared her throat, "if Adrien is expecting an answer, tell him I said yes." Chat smiled before bowing and running out of her room. _Way to go Agreste. I think today was a success._

Marinette turned back to Alya who still had a giant question mark above her head. "Don't ask, it's a long story." Alya closed her mouth as if she wasn't going to ask anything, but as the reporter she is, of course she had to ask a question, "so would you like to tell me exactly what's going on with Adrien?" Marinette sighed, she knew her best friend would eventually ask something like this, "Don't get me wrong, I really like him, but if I'm being honest, the fact that he's started to reciprocate the feelings kind of makes me nervous." Alya sighed and rolled her eyes, how typical of Marinette, "C'mon girl! You've got this! Don't worry about anything. Clearly he really likes you, too, so that means there's nothing to worry about. Now how about we go downstairs for a snack?"

"Well, you did it kid," Plagg said as he sat on his abnormally large block of cheese, "so now what?" Adrien smiled goofily as he crossed his arms behind his head, "now we wait for the Spring Fling and we have fun." Plagg tilted his head then gasped, "does that mean I get to go, too?" Laughing, Adrien poked Plagg on the side of the head, "of course you moron. You'll be hidden in my pocket." Plagg groaned as he continued to eat his cheese, he hated hiding sometimes. Adrien laughed at his kwami and sighed, it had been a good day for him. He closed his eyes to rest, _and hopefully it stays this good."_

 **Another chapter done! Just wanted to say thank you to those who have replied to my stories. I have taken your comments into consideration, and will/have done my best to use them to improve my writing.**


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